A movie with Almost Famous dreams facing an obscure reality.
When a colleague of mine saw I was reviewing Hot Summer Nights, a new indie drama which had debuted the previous year at SXSW, he dismissed it as just another coming-of-age tale before asking: “How many of those do we need?!” While he’s not wrong in the sense that there is no shortage of entries in this sub-genre, I was quick to point out that while there may not always be a need for them, there will at least always be an affection towards such films. The reason for this is because kids, teens, and even grown adults, come of age every day. However if their tale is as blandly told as this one-sided effort, maybe we do indeed have enough.
In early 90s-set Hot Summer Nights, teenager Daniel (Timothee Chalamet) is still reeling from the death of his father. As a way to hopefully turn him around, he’s sent to Cape Cod for the summer where he befriends local famous pot dealer Hunter (Alex Roe), who teaches him the trade. As the two begin to build a small, but profitable pot empire, problems start to show themselves in the face of dangerous dealers and Alex’s sister McKayla (Maika Monroe), whom Daniel finds himself falling in love with.
Looking at the trailer for Hot Summer Nights, the film does indeed look like the kind of telling coming of age piece that is always ripe for a cathartic, enriching time. If only the film had delivered on its trailer’s promise. As it stands, there’s nothing especially novel nor spectacular taking place here. The characters aren’t all that interesting and have nothing particularly worthwhile to say. Even the film’s heavies don’t feel all that menacing. So much of this can be chalked up to a lack of character development. Shamefully, not one of the three leads is explored beyond their base characteristics, never allowing us to fully get to know anyone. We know parents have died and traumas have been felt, but never once are the effects of them ever explored in a thoughtful way. It’s no surprise then that we can see the futures for each of the characters long before they happen. I can’t tell if writer/director Elijah Bynum legitimately thought he had a fleshed out set of characters here, or if by the film’s finale, (wonderfully set against the backdrop of a category 4 hurricane) we wouldn’t have cared.
While Hot Summer Nights doesn’t have a lot going for it in terms of originality, it’s virtues still make it worth checking out. There’s a great sense of place throughout the film as the world of Cape Cod in the dog days of summer are illustrated beautifully. This is especially true where class and culture are concerned with the two societies shown to be keeping a safe distance from one another, except when absolutely necessary. There’s also the theme of yearning to escape from the world which has defined you thus far which manages to come across in the most eloquent of ways. If the nostalgia in Hot Summer Nights seems forced (references are thrown around somewhat awkwardly), there’s still a loving appreciation to a time when the county was as uncertain as the characters on screen. Further still, Hot Summer Nights imparts a definite sadness as it recreates the last era before the dawn of the internet and the beginning of the end of relating one another on an emotional and human level.
Chalamet clocks in time on his acting ascent as Daniel, taking the role for what it is and at least getting more leading man experience under his belt. He’s outshadowed however by Roe and Monroe with the former hinting at a deep pain underneath the low life exterior and the latter bringing a soulfulness to the town’s sought-after vixen. Wasted in throwaway supporting roles, Thomas Jane as the local sheriff and William Fichtner as a drug kingpin, are both on screen long enough to be casualties of the half-baked screenplay.
There’s no disguising Hot Summer Nights as anything but a vehicle for it’s hot property star. Right now Chalamet has the world at his fingertips…the film world anyhow, and it’s his for the taking. The actor is enjoying the kind of creative freedom to explore his craft in a way legions of performers will never be able to, which he is certainly capitalizing on. This fall’s Beautiful Boy promises a hard-hitting drama and looks to continue the poetic brilliance which took Chalamet all the way to an Oscar nomination last year. For now though, fans and followers of the young actor must slog through the oftentimes-unbearable Hot Summer Nights.
Hot Summer Nights is available on DIRECTV and in theaters July 27.
